Suite Nothings
by femmedefoi
Summary: A collection of one-shots set in the muggle world about Hermione and Ginny sharing a suite with Fred and George while at University.
1. American Suiteheart

a/n: Back again! Still don't own anything! Still, think J.K. Rowling is a genius!

So ideally, this fic is going to be a series of Muggle Universe drabbles about Hermione and Fred living in a University suite together -for a visual, picture Fred and George being in one room, Ginny and Hermione in another, and there being a common space that both rooms open up to with some desks, a bookshelf, and a kitchen area.

Alright, here we go!

* * *

Chapter One: American Suite-Heart

 **September**

* * *

Hermione groaned as she rummaged through her backpack to find her American Government textbook.

She was sitting in the common area of the suite that she shared with Ginny and her brothers, with journals and paperwork strewn all over the desk she was currently occupying. It was 11:00 Thursday evening, and she had a quiz on Monday, one which, to be fair, she was already well-prepared for, but she wanted to browse the latest chapter one more time to make sure her study guide wasn't missing anything. She had a nagging feeling that she had left out something important about the term lengths for state representatives.

 _He borrowed it Tuesday night, did you really never ask for it back?_ She scolded herself internally. As entertaining as it was to be in a suite with her best friend's older brothers, she sometimes couldn't stand the personality differences between them all.

Well, really between her and Fred.

Ginny was Hermione's closest friend and had been since year three. George was milder, the quieter version of his twin in a sense. He was polite and considerate and had let Hermione into the suite numerous times when she had accidentally left her keys within.

And then there was Fred. By all accounts, Fred was Hermione's polar opposite. Where Hermione was mostly reserved around others, Fred was one of the most gregarious people she had ever met. Where she preferred order and organization, Fred seemed to live in a constant state of near-chaos. He was a player, always flirting with whoever was around, whether student or professor and much to Hermione's chagrin, he got away with it. She had heard of him unleashing his charms on many a Professor to get extensions on papers and presentations that he hadn't started due to his 'active lifestyle'.

Hermione snorted. While Fred was certainly active enough (he and his brother played locks on an intramural rugby team at the school) she wasn't sure she would consider his lifestyle one that she would condone. He was plenty intelligent, Hermione knew, but lazy. He was studying mechanical engineering alongside his brother, the two of them aspiring to open their own shop of inventions that would help students in their studies. The humor was not lost on Hermione that Fred Weasley, slacker extraordinaire wanted to help others in their studies.

But here they all were, in this _delightful_ suite which the twins had offered to share with Ginny and her best friend so they wouldn't end up in the notoriously heinous dormitories on campus. While she was grateful for the offer, she sometimes regretted having agreed. Fred seemed to enjoy getting a rise out her whenever possible, a memory floated into her mind of realizing that her keys were on the counter in the kitchen after leaving the suite, and turning to retrieve them only to hear the bolt lock click shut, and the shower in the twins' room begin to run. He had made her late for her French class that day, she was _not_ pleased.

Shaking her head and coming back to the present, she sighed as she stood up and stretched. Her wrist was sore from covering the page in front of her with her uniform scrawl, and as she raised a hand to run it through her hair she noticed that the underside of her hand was heavily smudged with dust from her pencil. Heading to the sink area to wash her hands, Hermione wondered if she _really needed_ to grab the textbook from Fred. After all, she had most of the material correct on her guide, didn't she?

 _That may be true, but you won't know unless you get the book from Fred, just get it over with, it'll be like pulling off a band-aid,_ she lamented internally at the prospect of facing Fred. She really wasn't in the mood for his joking attitude right now.

She steeled herself with a few deep breaths and knocked on her door. As she waiting for a response, a thought surfaced in her mind. _It's a Thursday night, Fred is probably out on the town making moves on some girls in a bar somewhere. George will probably answer the door, and then I can just go in and grab my textbook, no questions asked._

She was startled out of her thoughts by a tired-sounding voice calling "come in, the door's unlocked" from behind the wooden barricade. _Oh good, it's George._

Walking in, her eyes darted to the window on the eastern wall of the twins' shared dorm. She turned around to shut the door while explaining: "Hi George, I lent Fred one of my government textbooks earlier this week and I need it back so I can- oh. Hello, Fred." She stopped, slightly shocked at the sight in front of her.

The few times she had seen the twins' dorm, Fred's area had been messy, but this was something else. The entire contents of his wardrobe appeared to be in a pile at the foot of his bed, while the rest of it was covered in paperwork, journals, and her textbook. Fred himself was sitting on top of his dresser in a pair of too long flannels that had been cuffed at the ankles and what appeared to be a rugby jersey from his secondary school days. A pack of note cards sat next to him, and he was hastily scrawling down some facts onto one in his hand while glancing at a journal on his bed sheets when he paused to look up at her.

"Granger," he nodded at her and continued working. Hermione's jaw dropped slightly.

"I er.. What are you doing exactly?" She inquired.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he muttered, grabbing an eraser from behind his ear and scrubbing at the notecard in his hand, "we've got a quiz on Monday don't we?"

"Well, yes, I just figured that you'd be out...or something," she finished lamely. "Where's George?"

"My dearest brother has himself a date with his girlfriend this evening. I, on the other hand, need to study this positively _captivating_ material if I want to pass the course, hence why he is out and I am here." Fred said with an irritated scowl. "I hate the Americans, why did they have to make their government system so bloody complex?"

"It's not all _that_ bad, honestly. You're acting as if they have 37 different branches of bureaucracy, each with their own set of rules to follow. The most important thing to know is that they've divided their government into three branches: the legislative, which drafts and approves laws; the judicial, which interprets the laws; and the executive, which enforces the laws. To your credit, there are a lot of important positions to know, but honestly, it's not terrible." Hermione asserted, ticking off her fingers as she listed off the branches of government.

Fred stared at her, open-mouthed. "I've been poring over this textbook for days and I haven't gotten that clear of an explanation of the branch roles. Hermione, you're a genius!" he exclaimed.

 _Or I pay attention in class,_ she thought, but hastily bit back the retort. She looked up at Fred who ran a hand through his red hair absentmindedly in between notes. His kind eyes were shimmering with excitement as he threw another note card to the side - _hold on, shimmering? Since when do you use adjectives like "kind" and "shimmering" around Fred Weasley? Get a grip, Hermione._

"Hey, uh, Granger? How would you feel about studying with me?" Fred asked sheepishly, his face turning a shade of pink that Hermione found rather adorable. "I mean, I figure you're studying for it anyway, since you came in to grab the textbook, and then you can use the textbook and get whatever you need out of it, and then maybe I could bounce some questions off of you because, you know, IreallyneedtopassthisclassotherwiseIwon'tgraduate." His last few words tumbled out of his mouth in such rapid succession that Hermione wasn't sure she had heard them correctly.

"Pardon?"

Fred sighed. "I need to pass this class otherwise I won't graduate. I've taken it twice already, and the university told me that if I didn't pass this time, I would effectively be suspended from the school of engineering."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Hermione paused for a moment, debating. _He_ _ **is**_ _kind of cute, you know, and there are certainly worse people that you could be spending a Thursday night with. Plus he's desperate, who are you to turn down the requests of someone in need? On the other hand, what if this is all some elaborate set-up to make fun of you for studying so much? You certainly don't need another person to add to your reputation of being a goody-goody bookworm._ She heard the words come out of her mouth before she actually considered them.

"I'll do it."

* * *

Two hours later, George walked into the suite to find his brother sitting at a desk in the middle of the common area, taking measured notes in a journal, with Hermione's head rested on his shoulder. His mouth turned up in a smile as he approached his brother. _Maybe Fred has found someone after all._

Sitting down at the table next to his twin, George observed the focused look in his brother's eyes and was about to comment when Fred raised a finger to his lips and scrawled a note down on a stray piece of paper before sliding it over to his brother.

"She was helping me study for that Government class, and everything was going well, but it started getting late, and she started yawning, so I asked if she wanted to call it quits for the night, but she was determined to finish this unit with me. She fell asleep soon afterward, and I couldn't quite bring myself to wake her up. She looks so peaceful, don't you think?"

George chuckled softly and shook his head while observing the brunette lightly rested on his brother, and let out a low whistle. "Your call mate. Your call." He stood up and went back to his dorm to shower and head to bed.

When he woke up the next morning to make some coffee, they were both still there, Hermione with her head on Fred's shoulder and Fred with his head on top of hers. George smiled and took a sip of his coffee, deciding to let his brother figure this one out on his own.

Two weeks later, Fred received his quiz grade back only to pound on Hermione and Ginny's door, shouting "A 92%, I GOT A 92 HERMIONE! I'M GOING TO GRADUATE!"

Hermione never did get her textbook back.


	2. Home Suite Home

a/n: Aaaaaaaaand we're back for round two. Again, I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter Two: Home Suite Home

 **October**

* * *

Fred took a sip of his beer as he listened to George and Lee Jordan, a childhood friend of theirs, discuss the National League Rugby Championships.

"You don't really think Cambridge is going to take the title, do you mate? They've been bottom of the league for a decade, nearly!" George was saying.

"Dunno, I've got a strange feeling that this might be the year for them, boys." Lee grinned and took a hearty sip from his mug. "Fred, what do you think?"

"You know me, I've always been partial to Coventry when it com-" he cut off as he saw a familiar brunette walk through the doorway.

"Freddie?" his brother reached a hand out to pat his shoulder, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, sorry it's just…When have you ever known Granger to come to a pub?"

"Is she really? I don't know if I've ever seen her go out before, at least not to a place like this," George remarked before turning back to the conversation. Moments later, Fred did too but kept an eye trained on his suitemate out of curiosity.

* * *

Hermione hated crowded places. She didn't like concerts or galas and she definitely did not like clubs. So when Ginny had suggested they go to the pub to celebrate the end of midterm season, Hermione hadn't been thrilled. In fact, she had come up with 15 different excuses for why she couldn't go. Unfortunately Ginny had found the paper she had written them all down on. Even when Hermione had protested that she wasn't feeling well, Ginny shook her head and said "Nothing a little vodka can't help," before turning and leaving their dorm to wait for Hermione in the common area.

Hermione groaned before getting up to find that Ginny had already laid out an outfit for her to wear. _I suppose it won't kill me to go out with her. It's not like she's forcing me to go into the crowd and dance._ She quickly slipped on the navy dress and black heels before throwing a leather jacket on top and heading into the common area to meet Ginny while attempting to wrangle her hair into a high ponytail.

Ginny gave her a once-over and then, apparently satisfied with her appearance, dragged her out the door and down to the bar.

Almost as soon as they arrived, Ginny gravitated towards her boyfriend, Harry Potter, before heading off to the bar to grab them drinks. Hermione had grown up with Harry and was glad to see another friendly face, even if she still wasn't comfortable with being there.

Harry pulled a face at her, seeing her discomfort. "I see Ginny finally managed to get you here." His eyes softened, and a more sympathetic expression became apparent. "She means well, you know. She just gets a bit excited."

"I know, I just don't think she believes me when I say that crowds make me anxious," Hermione considered. "It's nothing against spending time with her, I just prefer more intimate gatherings. But you know as much, I don't need to bore you. How are classes going?"

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Well, they told me that law school was going to be a lot of work, but I'm not sure I knew what I was getting into. There's so much analysis that goes into each case review -last night I was up until 3 am finishing one- I'm running on no sleep and a highly necessary caffeine addiction." He grinned. "It'll all be worth it in a year or so, though."

Hermione smiled warmly at him and was about to ask about his plans for the winter holidays when Ginny came back carrying a glass full of dark liquid, and two fruity-looking, colorful cocktails.

After handing Harry his drink, Ginny moved one of the colorful glasses across the table to Hermione, who eagerly took a sip. She rarely went out to begin with, let alone drank, but if Ginny was going to force her to come out, then she might as well _try_ to dull the anxiety that accompanied it, right? She took another large sip and Ginny raised an eyebrow at her.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Hermione Granger readily drank alcohol placed in front of her- I take it you're excited for tonight, then?"

"Thrilled." Hermione deadpanned. Harry snorted, and then attempted to cover it by taking a gulp of his drink as Ginny sent a glare his way.

"Well if you're _so_ excited, then perhaps I should get you a couple more drinks," Ginny smirked, "Just to set the mood."

Hermione groaned internally for what must've been the 30th time that evening. Attempting to go back on her clearly sarcastic statement of enthusiasm wouldn't be a difficult argument to win, but it would still be an argument, and after the day she had been through, she wasn't particularly keen on arguing at all. Tired, uncomfortable, and desperately wanting a chance to leave, Hermione made her first poor decision of the night. "Mmm, yes, I think a couple more would be nice." she carelessly stated.

Ginny's face, which had previously been etched with a smirk, quickly turned to one of shock. Based on the drops of amber liquid running down Harry's chin and onto his shirt, Harry too was stunned. They had both known Hermione for a long time, long enough to know that Hermione had a self-imposed "one-drink-and-one-drink-only" rule. Whenever they had asked her about it, she would mutter things about self-control and dignity and loss of inhibitions as if she was quoting a textbook.

After about two years of asking her, Ginny had ultimately given up, and left Hermione to her own devices. After all, the last thing she needed was to pester Hermione about it in the evening, go out herself and get pleasantly drunk, and wake up in the morning with a killer hangover, only to have Hermione lecture her that _this_ was the reason that she only ever had one glass.

Ginny recovered first and decided to test the waters. "Any...ah preferences, Hermione?"

And then Hermione made her second poor decision of the night.

"Surprise me."

* * *

Well, my sister could've done worse," Fred mused as he watched Hermione talk to the dark-haired man sitting across from her. "Boy Wonder isn't all that bad. Smart kid, s'got a good head on his shoulders."

George looked over at his brother in disbelief.

"You're staring." He whispered into Fred's ear, causing him to stumble backward for a moment before regaining his footing.

"No I'm not, George, I'm just trying to figure out what she's doing here. You can't tell me you're not curious. Not after hearing her argue with Ginny so many times about hating places like this. There has to be a reason, doesn't there?" George shook his head.

"Yes, and I'm sure that reason happens to share a name with our sister." At this, Fred shot his brother a look.

"I'm just saying, Fred. It looks a bit odd, you leering from all the way over here. You'd be better off just going up to her."

Fred's eyes lit up as he turned towards his brother. Sometimes he honestly wondered if he would ever be able to function properly without George being the voice of reason in his life. "Yeah, well maybe I will after Gin and Boy-Wonder are done with her." He glanced back at Hermione only to see her warily eying two glasses in front of her while Ginny looked on amusedly, and Harry with a skeptical expression on his face. _God, I wish I was a fly on the wall for_ _ **that**_ _conversation._ He turned around.

"So Georgie, about that prototype…."

* * *

Hermione was currently halfway through her third drink, and she was starting to feel the alcohol muddle her brain. GInny had left to go chat with some of her classmates, and Harry had accompanied her, leaving Hermione alone to nurse her drinks and count down the minutes before Ginny would finally let her leave. She had tried to make a break for it earlier, sometime in between drinks two and three, but Ginny caught her by the elbow and marched her back over to the table before she could reach the door, saying something about all of Hermione's potential going to waste, and then taking her keys away. Hermione had sighed and nodded as Ginny continued her campaign for Hermione to let loose and have fun for the night, feeling tipsy enough to not argue, but sober enough to still have a slightly irritated scowl on her face.

Glaring at the glass in front of her, she downed another gulp and felt her shoulders relax a bit. She was _bored_ for goodness' sake! Ginny had taken her out to let loose, and here she was: sitting at a table moping. Maybe she _ought_ to go do something. Sighing and finishing off the last of her drink, Hermione began to make her way through the crowd, in search of a familiar face. As she passed that blonde boy with the green shirt for the fourth time, she found herself glad that her hair was in a ponytail and not down over her neck and back. Every time she bumped into someone, she became increasingly aware of how warm she was. Her face felt flushed, her palms were clammy, and as she scanned the faces in the pub, she found herself unable to locate Ginny or Harry. _They probably left already_ , she thought bitterly, _Wouldn't blame them, to be honest. Here are two options: babysit your anxious friend at a pub, or go have some alone time- let me know what you choose._

Hermione snorted at the thought of them choosing to babysit her. While Harry may find it in himself to sit with her for a while, a fact Hermione would've written up to brother-like concern, Ginny would've sat with her for three minutes tops before sighing in exasperation and becoming frustrated. No, it would seem that tonight she was her own lost cause.

She scanned the crowd a few more times with a frantic obsession, each time her glance coming up void of people she knew, and each failed attempt constricting her lungs a bit more. In the back of her mind, she heard a nasally voice telling her that the alcohol was affecting her senses and that she could breathe just fine, but before she could let those words sink in, a larger, more violent voice spoke over the first, reminding her of exactly _why_ she hated crowds so much, and why she flinched when people touched her without announcing themselves.

She felt her mind start to descend into a spiral of anxiety and knew she needed to get somewhere open, to be away from people and to take breath after breath of fresh air in order to distract her, so she turned towards the door and ran...

Straight into Fred Weasley.

"Granger, what are you-" he began to joke before noticing the paleness of her face and the beads of sweat that were starting to form along her forehead. "Hermione, are you alright?"

 _This is what you need,_ her mind taunted her, _this is what Ginny wanted you to do, go out, talk to people, be something other than a homebody._ She took a deep breath, allowing her heart rate to slow down to normality again, before responding.

"Yeah, no, everything is good."

"You just contradicted yourself."

"Pardon?"

"You said 'Yeah, no.'," he pointed out, "So which is it, yeah or no?"

"A bit of both, I suppose. I was having a fine enough time but then I just got a bit overwhelmed. I think I just needed something to do with myself and when I couldn't find anything to do, my thoughts just took over." She commented sheepishly, the blush rising to her cheeks almost imperceptible beneath the alcohol induced flushed skin.

"And now you're looking for something to do…?" He questioned slowly, raising an eyebrow in a slightly seductive fashion that made Hermione shiver. She took a deep breath. _Come on Hermione, it's now or never. And it's Fred after all, you've known him for five years now. You'll be fine._ She lifted her eyes to meet his, surprised to see concern written in them alongside the ever-present humor and mirth.

"I think I may have found it," she giggled, "let's sit."

Shocked at her forward behavior, Fred allowed her to pull him over to a booth and sit across from him. She knew that this newfound confidence could easily be traced back to a drink or three that she had consumed earlier in the evening, but as she summoned over a waiter and ordered six shots of vodka, she couldn't bring herself to care. She had a person now, and she wasn't alone, which meant it was time to enjoy herself.

"Uh, Hermione, what are you doing?" Fred ventured carefully, not wanting to irritate the clearly inebriated woman sitting in front of him, but also more than a little concerned about the six glasses of clear liquid that glared at him from the table.

"We're playing a game, Frederick." She said briskly. Fred put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I can handle a game. I'll bet you 5 quid that I'll beat you, though."

"You're on. I _always_ win this game. Prepare yourself for the bitter taste of defeat." Hermione stated, fixing Fred with a penetrating stare and smirking.

"Alright, Miss Champion, what exactly are we playing?"

Hermione chuckled deeply and looked away from his challenging blue eyes. "Two truths and a lie."

"But that's not a-"

"If you guess the lie correctly, the other person takes the shot. If not, you do. And vice versa, if your lie is guessed, you take the shot."

"So it's not about even amounts of alcohol, then? It's not three for me and three for you?"

A devilish grin spread across her face. "Now what would be the fun in that? I'd much rather see you have to down all six shots," she said as she gestured to the six glasses sitting between them.

A smirk made its way onto his face as he lifted his eyes to meet her.

"Challenge accepted."

* * *

30 minutes later found a stumbling Hermione draped around Fred's waist as he attempted to lead her back to their suite.

"Come on, Granger, you can't possibly be this much of a lightweight."

A snort erupted from the girl hanging off his chest, "Come back to me when you take five shots of vodka, Freddie. I'll show you!"

"Show me what exactly?"

"How devastatingly handsome I am, obviously," she said with a stoic look on her face before deciding that the ground looked like a delightful place to sit and plopping herself down on the grass.

"Do women use that adjective with themselves? I always just assumed it was a guy thing…Granger, come on now, we're only a little bit from home, just a few more blocks." He looked down at the girl with a slightly amused glance. "You can't just sit there on the ground and expect me to leave you there. My mother would castrate me herself if she found out I had done something so ungentlemanly."

Hermione giggled again. "Yoooooooooou're Frederick. Frederick the Gentleman, oh! I like that! It has a nice ring to it. _Frederick the Gentleman, Frederick the Gentleman!_ " By this point, she had hopped up and begun prancing around the quad singing Fred's new moniker. The aforementioned gentleman himself shook his head in amusement.

"But wait, what about George?" she mused aloud while swaying on her feet. "His name fits better. More of the alliteralation. George the Gentleman it is!"

Fred snorted. _Alliteralation? She must really be drunk._ "C'mon Granger, let's get you back home." he tugged at her jacket sleeve and gently grabbed her wrist while she attempted to protest.

Hermione took a few steps and then stumbled into a warm body and suddenly felt very drowsy. "Freeeeeeeeeed I want to sleep, I'm tiiiiiiiired."

Chuckling to himself, Fred turned the woman in front of him around to face their building and attempted to steady her by putting his hands on her shoulders and beginning to guide her in that direction.

About ten feet from the door to their building, Hermione stumbled and seemed to decide that outside was the best place to be. In the most ungraceful fashion Fred had ever seen her manage, she sat down on the ground and began staring up at the stars.

"I wanna sleep out here, Fred, it's prettier out here," she whined, before turning to fix him with puppy-dog eyes. He shook his head and started helping her up, but she pulled away, apparently truly intent on sleeping beneath the stars. Taking a deep breath, and hoping that no one was watching to be able to recount this later, Fred picked Hermione up bridal style and began carrying her toward the door, her protesting loudly all the while.

Once they got back to the suite, it became obvious to Fred that Hermione had left (or been forced to give) her keys to Ginny, making their dorm inaccessible. _George's and mine it is, I suppose._ He opened up the door and was immediately grateful that George had made him clean up his side of the room before they had gone out. The small sofa in front of his bed that was usually covered in different pieces of scrap metal and trash was now clear of any such objects, and instead sporting one of the quilts that their mum had made for the twins before they left for school.

"Granger, I'm going to put you down now, but I'll be right back, I promise," Fred said softly as he gingerly placed the intoxicated girl on the sofa. She made some unintelligible mumbles before turning over to face away from him, leaning into the quilt draped over the sofa back. Fred felt the blood rushing up to his face and turned away to fetch a small rubbish bin before anyone could see. _This whole thing would be a lot easier if you didn't have feelings for her, you know,_ a voice inside his head said mockingly, sounding suspiciously like George.

He walked back into the room only to find Hermione asleep on his sofa.

"She won't be comfortable there, I'd imagine," he muttered quietly, as he put down the bin and made his way towards the sleeping girl. He picked her up carefully, doing his best not to wake her, and placed her underneath the folded-back blankets on his bed. "That's better." Moving the bin closer to her, so if she woke up, she could easily find it, Fred grabbed a shirt and pajama bottoms and entered the bathroom to change. Upon his return, he saw that Hermione had curled into his blankets and seemed sufficiently comfortable, and, feeling content with the current situation, made his way over to the sofa before pausing and turning around. He moved towards the sleeping girl and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head before heading back over to the sofa with one of George's pillows to make a bed for himself. Within ten minutes, he was asleep, wrapped in his mother's quilt and dreaming about a certain brunette laying in his bed.

* * *

"Are you sure this was a good idea, Ginny?" Harry asked his girlfriend for what must have been the twelfth time that evening.

"For the last time, Harry, I swear it was. I know she doesn't like crowds, so I knew she would want to be around people she knew. Once you and I left, the only people here that she would feel comfortable around would be George and Fred, the latter of whom happens to have harbored a fancy for that girl since the day he laid eyes on her -a fact which everyone but Hermione seems to have grasped. George encourages Fred to go talk to her, and Fred, knowing that George has always been better with successfully landing women, follows his advice, they sit down and chat, he walks her home -voila! A perfect first date."

Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You got George in on this too?"

"God Harry, the whole family is in on it! George is sick of Fred complaining about not having a chance with her when he never makes a move. It'll go perfectly, I bet you ten quid. We already saw her and Fred leave ten minutes ago, there's not much more for him to screw up from there. When I get home, she'll be sitting up on her bed and she won't be able to stop talking about what a gentleman my brother is."

"Gin, I'll take you up on that bet, but mainly because, I uh, I think you forgot about something, well actually, a few things..." Harry began hesitantly.

"What? I covered all my bases. I've got myself, you, George, Fred, and Hermione all settled, what on Earth could I possibly have forgotten about?"

"She had more than one drink."

* * *

When Ginny arrived home, she realized the other thing she had forgotten about, as she reached into her purse to find a set of keys on a circle with a leather tag that said "H.G." on it. Hurriedly opening the door to the suite, she looked around the common room only to find it empty.

Now slightly worried that Hermione never made it back home, Ginny hastily opened the door to Fred and George's dorm, intent on yelling at Fred for abandoning their friend only to suppress a grin.

Hermione was lying on Fred's bed, cocooned beneath his blankets, while Fred was on the sofa in front of her, seemingly in a protective fashion, as he blocked the pathway to his bed. While Hermione looked comfortable, Ginny could see her brother shivering at the lack of warmth his mother's too-small quilt provided. She quickly grabbed George's quilt off the end of his bed, and draped it over her brother's t-shirt clad chest, before snapping a picture and sending it on her mobile with the caption:

"You owe me £10, Potter."

* * *

a/n: That's it for this one, guys. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did (which is, to say, A LOT)


	3. Short But Suite

a/n: Here we are again, part three of five coming at you hot! I still own nothing, the incomparable J.K. Rowling is incredible, etc… Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: "Short but Suite"

 **November**

* * *

"Frederick Gideon Weasley!"

The redhead in question winced at the use of his full name. He pulled the headphones off from over his ears and responded cautiously.

"What is it that you require, oh brilliant, charming, and intellectually endowed suitemate of mine?"

"Get. In. Here….Now."

Fred hastily climbed out of his bed and headed to the opposite dorm, abandoning his computer, on which he had been designing a logo for the candy he and his brother had invented. _Companion's Confections. I like the ring, it sounds alright._

He walked into the room his sister and Hermione shared to see the latter standing on her chair near the door while staring bullets into the corner of the room above her bed.

"Oh Fred, thank God you're here, I've been calling you for ages!"

"Sorry about that...Had headphones in, didn't really hear you."

Hermione instantly regretted the tone she had used to call him earlier, knowing that Fred only ever listened to music on headphones when he was trying to focus on something without being distracted.

"Oh you were working, I didn't know...If I had, I wouldn't have called so insistently I swear, I would _never_ intentionally disrupt anyone while they were trying to work on something..." She trailed off weakly.

Fred ran a hand through his hair distractedly and sighed. "It's fine, Hermione. Really it is. Just… What do you need me for?"

Hermione turned bright red and smiled sheepishly.

"There's a spider, and well, I can't reach it. I want it out of my room."

"A spider?" he asked, his "are-you-kidding-me" hanging in the air, unanswered until Hermione spoke up again.

"Well, see, I would've called for George, but he's got a class right now, and Ginny's out with Harry and I really don't like spiders, and ever since I've seen it, I haven't been able to focus on this paper, because I really don't like spiders, and I hate being distracted when I'm trying to focus," at this she paused and looked up at him apologetically, blushing. "Sorry about that. It's just that I can't unsee it now that I've seen it, and I really don't like spiders so it's been on my mind and I thought that maybe you would understand, and sympathize maybe, and help me because you know-"

Fred cut her off, "You really don't like spiders. Yes, I've gathered that much. Alright, hand me a tissue and we'll see what I can do." Hermione dutifully grabbed a tissue from a box on her desk but paused before handing it to him.

"Um... Fred?"

"Yes?"

"Can you, um, try not to kill it?"

"You can't be serious."

"I don't want it to die in front of me, well, not at all really, but not in front of me if it's at all avoidable."

Fred sighed and snatched the tissue from her hand before she could get another request on spider extermination out. He gingerly stepped on the edge of her bed frame before reaching up to gently grab the spider from the corner of the room with the tissue, all the while wondering why he was putting up with this. _Ginny never had issues with spiders, honestly!_

"So Granger, I'm going to put this spider on the grass outside our building, is that alright?" he asked tiredly.

Hermione, blushing, nodded her head as she stepped down from her chair. "Thank you, Fred," she said quietly as he moved to pass her.

Fred walked out of her dorm room, and she followed, only to split paths at the common area; him to the outside, her to his dorm.

She was looking at his logo with a curious expression on her face when he found her.

"Well, if you're going to look at it that way, don't bother telling me what you _really_ think of it," Fred said from behind, and she whipped her head around to face him.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just…. Well, didn't you two say you were still working on a name just a few days ago?"

"Yes, and we've settled on _Companion's Confections._ Is there an issue with that?"

"No I suppose not, I just think there are cleverer options you could've chosen. Then again, it's not my business, figuratively or literally. The logo itself looks quite nice, Fred. You've done an excellent job with that."

Fred blew out of his nose with annoyance. "Yes, well, please, do tell what your oh-so-excellent ideas are."

"If you're going to be like _that_ , I won't be telling you much of anything," she said before walking back to her dorm and slamming the door.

* * *

George ran into his sister as he was walking back from class and immediately did a double take to ensure that the smirk she wore was meant for him.

"Gin, what'd you do?"

"Nothing much, just let a spider loose near Hermione's bed when you weren't there, and bailed before she could see it, forcing her to call Fred into the room to help her. She really doesn't like spiders, you know." Ginny grinned, and George shook his head.

"Fred's not going to be happy about it, you know. He was trying to work on a logo for those candies we finalized the recipes on last week. He'll be really angry with her for disrupting his focus." He said as they reached their building.

Opening the door, Ginny turned to him. "I guess we'll find out."

As they looked around, George noticed the sheet of paper taped to his and Fred's door, while Ginny noted the absence of music coming from her and Hermione's dorm. As they went to investigate, George was surprised to see that the paper was from Hermione.

"Fred,

I'm sorry for being so rude earlier.

Your help was greatly appreciated by me AND my arachnid friend.

Here are some of the suggestions I would've had if you still want them.

'Duplicate Delights,

Doppelganger Desserts,

Brothers' BonBons.'

Sorry again for bothering you while you were working, that logo really did look fantastic.

-Hermione"

 _Blimey, these are_ _ **way**_ _better than that stupid name we came up with._ He grinned and turned back to Ginny, who had just re-emerged from her dorm.

"Well, Hermione feels guilty about something. She's got her headphones on, is buried in her textbooks and is refusing to tell me what happened."

"I think I have an idea," George stated as he showed the note to Ginny. Her eyes widened.

"Hey, Fred!"

"What do you want Gin? I'm trying to work!"

"Just come in here for one second, Gred. I have something I think you'll want to see."

Fred came out from the dorm, shoving his headphones into his pocket and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes?"

George held out the note and saw Fred's eyes widen as he scanned the list of potential names.

"Doppelganger Desserts? Brothers' BonBons? These are brilliant! Hermione!" he called out.

No response came from the other dorm. "She's got headphones on, you know," Ginny pointed out.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" Fred yelled again.

A weak "yes?" came out from under the door to the girls' dorm, and Fred grinned.

"Come. Out. Here...Now." Ginny was shocked to hear such a tone of irritation come out of her brother's mouth when his face held such a bright smile.

Hermione slowly opened the door and walked up, before widening her eyes in surprise at the other two members of the suite being in the common area too. She blushed furiously and made to turn back around, but Fred caught her by the shoulder before she could.

"You came up with these?" He said, pointing at the note in his hand.

She nodded, not wanting to look him in the eye.

"You're bloody brilliant, you know that? We've been working on this for weeks, and haven't come up with anything worthwhile -I could kiss you! " Her head shot up at this. Suddenly she was engulfed in a tight embrace, and all she could see was red for a few moments before the pressure released and she could breathe again.

"Hermione, you're a genius," he said as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek quickly. "George, we need to have a meeting ASAP," he said, grabbing his brother's arm and dragging him into their dorm.

Ginny turned to face Hermione, only to find her friend holding a hand against her cheek, looking dazedly at the door the twins had gone through.

Ginny couldn't wait to talk with George again, this was going to be a fun time indeed.

* * *

a/n: So this was the one-shot that inspired this story- I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did :)


	4. Suite Talker

a/n: Here's part four- I still own nothing, the incomparable J.K. Rowling is incredible, etc… Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Suite Talker

 **Early December**

* * *

George Weasley has been lactose intolerant since the age of 14. It's not something anyone would actively know about him unless they were a family member or a close friend.

Or Hermione Granger, who had been living with him, his brother, and their sister for the last four months.

Hermione knew a lot of things.

She knew that George was lactose intolerant, and she had previously, therefore, kept all of the milk on Ginny's and her half of the refrigerator. She also knew that Ginny had recently developed an intolerance as well, and because of this, Hermione took to purchasing pint-sized milk bottles so none of it would go to waste. She knew they both preferred almond milk, and when it was on sale, she made a point of getting cartons of it so the two would have something to put in their cereal in the mornings.

She knew that the whiteboard she placed on the refrigerator would inevitably be filled with the shopping requests for the coming week on Thursday afternoons, and she knew that on Friday mornings she would dutifully jot down the list, erase the whiteboard for further use, and head to the store to return within 45 minutes.

What she didn't know was that Ginny was a liar.

* * *

"Gin, are you sure this is a good idea? Do you even know the symptoms that go along with this? Hermione's a smart girl, she'll see through you if you don't fake it well enough." George questioned his sister over his coffee ('sugar, no cream thank you') as he took a sip.

Frigid December air cut through the shop as a door opened, and Ginny took a sip of her own coffee ('sugar and _extra_ cream please') and shook her head. "George, you're thinking too much. All I have to do is avoid dairy when I'm with her, and then I'm golden. If I slip up, she'll chalk it up to my 'period of adjustment' to the new diet, I'm sure."

George raised an eyebrow but said nothing, choosing instead to stare out the window of the coffee shop at the youth rugby players practicing for their next match.

"You don't approve. Why?" Ginny questioned.

"It's just that I don't know if this is a good way of getting them together. Sure, you can frame Fred well enough for stealing her milk, and if I back you up, she'll have no reason to believe otherwise, but how is that going to get him to win her over?" George countered.

"All we need is for Fred to be himself. As soon as the precedent is set, Fred will keep up the joke, I'm sure. He just needs to figure out how to charmingly steal her milk, and then we're set."

"So glad to have that context, dearest sister of mine," George spoke dryly. "I just don't know if it'll work out the way you want it to."

"Well, we're not going to find that out just sitting around here. It's time for me to go have some cereal at the dorm and for you to figure out how to convince Fred to steal 'Mione's milk."

George sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into.

* * *

When Fred came home from class later that day, he saw Ginny sitting at a desk in the common area with a bowl of cereal and journals spread around her. Choosing to let her work, he went into his room and sat down to do some of his physics work. He was about halfway through a problem when he heard Hermione's irate voice.

"Who drank all of my milk? Frederick!"

The twin in question peered out from behind his door to see a very flustered looking Hermione holding an empty looking jug of milk limply in one hand and a bowl of cake mix in the other.

"Why did you finish off my milk? You knew I was supposed to be making cupcakes for the class I TA!" she fumed.

Fred raised his hands in mock surrender while walking towards the girl in the common area. "Easy there Granger, I didn't drink your milk. I grabbed a bagel before I headed out this morning, and haven't been back since."

"Well who else would've drunk it, Fred? Your brother _and_ your sister are both lactose intolerant. Neither of them would've done it."

"Maybe when Ginny came back from the bar the other night, she mistakenly grabbed your milk instead of hers, I don't know!"

"Fred, it was full _this morning._ "

"Well, it would seem you have a milk mugger on your hands, because I certainly didn't take it."

Hermione glared ferociously at him before loudly setting down her bowl and the milk jug on the counter and informing Ginny that she'd be gone for a bit to run out and get more milk.

Fred stood there silently, confused at why he felt a heat rising into his cheeks while watching the girl in front of him flurry about the dorm getting ready to leave. As Hermione slammed the door on the way out, Fred realized he had been staring, and hurriedly walked back into his dorm and closed the door gently. _C'mon Fred, you have to admit she looked pretty cute standing there all flustered with cake batter on her nose, and her hair frizzed with humidity. She's got a wicked temper._ At this, he grinned. _She was rather adorable when she got angry. How could he make her angry without making her hate him though? He didn't want her to despise him, only for her to get that cute flush right across the bridge of her nose, and the passion in her eyes when she defended what she knew was right, and...Alright Fred, don't get carried away, now. Just come up with a plan and run with it._

All of a sudden, an idea sprang into Fred's mind, and he, wanting to work out the kinks in the plan before putting it into action, grabbed a journal from his desk and started frantically scribbling.

Meanwhile, Ginny smirked as she enjoyed her cereal and very much lactose imbued milk.

* * *

Hermione returned from the store to find a note written on her white board.

"I'm very sorry I _spoiled_ your cupcakes. Let me know if there's any way I can make the situation _butter._ "- FW

As irritated as she was with the red-haired twin, she couldn't help but let a small smile creep over her lips as she erased the note, and placed her new milk jug in the refrigerator. _That boy is going to be the death of me, I swear._

It was only two months prior that she had woken up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bed with the urge to vomit. She had turned to expel the contents of her stomach to find a rubbish bin already being held up, and a hand gingerly rubbing her back in calming circles. Too nauseous to question the identity of this person, she emptied the contents of her stomach and flopped ungracefully back on the bed, only to have the mystery person bring her a cup of water and some aspirin a few minutes later.

 **-(two months earlier)-**

"You'll regret it in the morning if you don't," he had offered as he held out the two pills and glass. Hermione had looked up in shock, recognizing the voice.

"Fred? What are you...What am I...Oh my god, we didn't-"

"No, nothing like that. You got yourself delightfully drunk last night and had left your keys with Ginny; I couldn't bring you back to your room, so I brought you to mine instead. I've been on the sofa because I had a feeling you would get sick sometime around 3:17 am, and it would appear….I was only 2 minutes off, you really are quite predictable, Granger." He smiled gently at her.

"I'll never forgive Ginny for making me drink so much and then leaving me behind." She spat out with as much bitterness as her hungover, 3:15 am self could muster.

Fred chuckled. "I imagine you won't. But for now, I'd suggest you lay back down and try to let the aspirin work before you give yourself a screaming headache to accompany that nausea. Trust me, I've ridden out enough hangovers to know that they never get prettier, especially not the first few, and based on what I know about you, I'd assume this is one of the first hangovers you've had."

Blushing profusely at the fact that Fred knew her non-alcoholic tendencies well enough to note such a thing, Hermione nodded and whispered a quiet "thanks" before gingerly laying back down on Fred's bed, an arm draped protectively over her still unsettled stomach. Fred pulled the covers back around her to make her more comfortable before moving back to the sofa.

As she drifted off, Hermione could've sworn she heard a quiet voice whisper "sleep well 'Mione", but she slipped into sleep before she could identify its source.

 **-(present day)-**

True to form, Hermione had told Ginny off for leaving her alone in the bar that night, not wanting to admit that she had been quite enjoying herself with Fred before she had found herself utterly drunk.

Ever since, she had been dodging her suitemates, specifically a particularly lanky redhead and his twin brother, at all costs. She did her best to be exceptionally busy, so busy, in fact, that Harry and Ginny sat her down for an intervention because they were concerned that she was overworking herself in response to their actions. Hermione did her best to reassure them that while no, she was not pleased with their actions, she was not petty enough to completely avoid the two of them because of how the night had played out.

What she didn't say was that she was terrified she had started to seriously fancy the elder twin.

It was a lackluster day in early November when Hermione decided she needed to share these feelings with someone.

A girl in one of her classes that she had gone to primary school with, Renée, had become a rather close friend as of late, considering Hermione had been "coincidentally on purpose" avoiding her suitemates.

She had called Renée and asked if she wanted to meet for coffee and fully get to catch up. The other girl had readily agreed, eager to fall back into friendship with Hermione. The first hour of their conversation had been easy, light and cheerful, just two young women exchanging tales of where life had taken them thus far. After a moderately comedic retelling of a ski trip Hermione had taken with her parents a few years back, Renée bluntly asked Hermione the question that she had been equally eager and dismayed for.

"Why did you really want to talk, Hermione? I mean, I'm happy to sit here and explain awkward teenage stories with you for hours, but there's clearly something that you wanted to talk about, and I just can't sit here and watch you dance around that. So out with it, what's the matter?"

Hermione briefly allowed an expression of surprise flit across her face before sheepishly muttering, "It's a boy."

"Go on," Renée urged.

"Well, I've known him for five years, going on six in March. We've always been decent friends, but that was mainly because he was my best friend's older brother, but I never really thought of him in any other way until this year," she trailed off, uncertain of how to proceed.

"So what changed this year?" Her friend pressed.

"We started living together." Renée raised her eyebrows in surprise, "No no, not like that. Him and his roommate found a suite that was relatively cheap and thought Ginny would appreciate having decent housing, so they offered her and her roommate, me, the extra dorm. He's been everything I hate about a guy -he's rash and impulsive, can be completely inconsiderate, and utterly clueless to how others are feeling. He keeps me up late at night because he'll be shouting at things in his room, or re-wiring radios to give off strange broadcasts… He's wholly obnoxious the majority of the time.'

"But…" Renée prodded, eager to find out why her friend's opinion had changed.

"But back in September, I realized that I thought he was kind of alright. I mean, he's kind of cute, and he's really passionate about the things that he cares about, and last month he brought me home when I was drunk and then he helped me take care of spiders in my room and I think," she took a deep breath, bracing herself for the statement she was about to make, "I think I might fancy him," she finished lamely.

"And the problem with that is….?"

"I don't think he fancies me, or ever would." Hermione stared intently at her coffee as if it could provide the responses she wanted.

"Didn't you just say that he brought you home when you were drunk? You don't get drunk, Hermione, surely he knows that. Why would he have willingly left the bar to take you home if he didn't care about you?" Renée questioned. "I mean, I'm sure he had better things to do there, after all, his twin would've been there," she winked.

"But how did you…?"

"Ginny and I took a Chemistry class together a while back, she told me all about her older brothers, _particularly_ two twins who were looking to get a suite together. So is it Fred or George?"

"Fred."

"Hm… Well, what else has been going on between the two of you?"

Hermione cringed a bit at the question. "I've, well, I've kind of been avoiding him since the whole 'I got smashed and he took me home and put me in his bed and slept on the couch' incident, to be honest."

Renée's eyes widened. "He put you in a bed and took the couch? And you've been ignoring him?"

Hermione nodded sheepishly. "He took care of me when I was hungover in the middle of the night too. But _that's_ why I can't face him. When I asked him to take care of the spider in my room for me I could barely look him in the eye, and then we got into a spat because I said something stupid and kind of insulted a project he was working on but then he kissed me on the cheek and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and now he's gone and started stealing y milk and leaving me notes on the whiteboard. What sort of a move is that?"

A low whistle came out of Renée's mouth. "Let me get this straight -he kissed you, and you're not sure if he fancies you?"

"It was really more of a slight kiss on the cheek, you know, like a 'wow Hermione, you're brilliant and helped us name our product I could kiss you' sort of a thing. Anyway, what do you think?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Hermione nodded.

"I think he's into you."

* * *

Today's milk was: udder-ly delicious!" Hermione's whiteboard read when she returned from her coffee date.

She shook her head and glanced at the door to Fred and George's dorm. Steeling herself for the conversation she was about to have, she knocked on the door.

"Come in, s'unlocked."

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, hoping to find a specific twin waiting within the dorm. _Luck is on my side today_ , she thought as she saw Fred leisurely reclined on his bed, facing the wall, a journal in one hand and a pen in the other, jotting down notes around a drawing of some sort.

He looked up at her and his face lit up.

"Granger, what a pleasant surprise! Did you come for some farm-fresh jokes?" he grinned widely.

She shook her head, "No, Fred. I actually, well, I came to say something but now I'm not quite sure if I know what I want to say, and I'm a bit frustrated about that- you know what? I'll just come back some other time when I'm better prepared and I know what I'm doing…" she trailed off.

"Is everything okay?"

His question was met with silence as Hermione stared at her feet, willing him to ignore her.

"Hermione?"

She flinched at the use of her first name, and then lifted her head towards him timidly.

"I was going to apologize to you because I figure I've rather made a fool of myself in the last couple of months and I didn't ever plan to get drunk and force you to walk me back and I didn't mean to criticize your logo and I swear I wasn't planning on yelling at you but I've been having a bit of a month and I didn't actually mean anything I said I was just upset and I wasn't sure what to do because I needed to make those cupcakes and I-"

"Blimey Granger, slow down! You didn't have to apologize, I wasn't ever hurt, or anywhere near angry. I mean, I was a bit frustrated that one day with the spider, but that was mainly just because I was trying to focus on getting that logo perfected. You didn't do anything wrong-hold up a minute. Have you been holding this in since October?"

Hermione's eyes dropped back to the floor as she nodded sheepishly.

"Why didn't you just… Gra-Hermione, will you look at me?"

She slowly tilted her head up to meet his concerned gaze.

"You didn't _force_ me to do anything. I would've gladly taken any of my friends home to ensure their safety after a night of drinking like that," he started.

 _See, Hermione, even more confirmation that you're just a friend to him. Nothing more. Certainly not someone he fancies._

Fred saw the expression of hurt that flitted across her face and realized what she must have thought, so he continued.

"...which isn't to say that you're just like anyone else, Hermione. I wouldn't have spent the night with you at the bar if I was bored or felt forced, honestly, you know me. I would've ducked out to go to the bathroom and escaped if I was that miserable," he sent a smile her way, hoping for a reaction.

Nothing.

He continued, "But I didn't do that, because I had fun with you, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. You worried me when you first bumped into me that night. You looked like you were about to fall apart and I couldn't just stand there and watch it happen. I would've done anythi-" he stopped abruptly, afraid of showing his hand, before clearing his throat and continuing. "I wouldn't have done that for anyone else. You didn't _make_ me do anything, I promise you. And I certainly don't regret a moment of it."

Hermione gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and opened her mouth as if to say something, but then shook her head and thought better of it.

"'Mione?"

Hermione's heart stuttered for a moment at the use of the nickname. She wasn't particularly fond of her name, however, she _was_ an incredibly practical person. She frowned upon abbreviations and nicknames, normally. But hearing it in Fred's voice was something entirely different. It was...sweet, in a way she hadn't ever expected, and she surprised herself by being more than a little disappointed that he didn't actually feel in a way that he would express that kind of sweetness towards her.

"I uh, I need to go," she said, before bolting for the door. She ran into her dorm room and closed the door quickly, hoping that Ginny wasn't in the dorm, as she flung herself onto the bed dramatically and let a few tears trickle down her cheeks silently.

No such luck.

"Woah there, 'Mione, what's the matter? If it's about the milk, I'll let you in on a secret- it was really me who's been stealing it, not Fred. I can pay you back if you'd like."

Hermione rolled over to face away from her roommate, not wanting to discuss the way she felt at the present moment. She felt her face flush at the nickname but held her ground, determined not to let Ginny become privy to her innermost feelings about her older brother.

"Is this about Fred? Did he do something to you? If he did, I'll kill him! That boy has-"

"Fred didn't do anything," Hermione murmured weakly.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, straining her ears to hear the response from her friend.

"Fred didn't do anything," Hermione repeated, slightly louder this time. She was mentally praising herself for lying so well to her friend when she hiccuped a bit too loudly for Ginny to believe that she wasn't still in emotional distress.

"Hermione, you know I just want to make sure you're alright. What happened?" Hermione half-heartedly rolled over to face her roommate.

"You swear you won't let this leave this room?" Ginny nodded furiously. "Promise?" More nods.

"I let my guard down for a bit, and I started fancying this boy. I didn't really expect it to go anywhere, you know, I just assumed it was a regular crush, and it would go away in a few weeks. But it's been a few months now, and I'm still not over it, and earlier today I was having a conversation with him and he basically flat out stated that we were just friends and I know it shouldn't be the end of the world or anything but I just...I don't usually fall for guys to begin with- You know me! I stay at the other end of the spectrum and try to ignore the entire male population for this _exact_ reason, but now I'm stuck in the middle of it and as hard as I'm trying to distance myself from these emotions it's not working and as loathe I am to admit it, I'm upset that he doesn't feel the same way, which is stupid really, because this whole time I've been assuming he didn't, but now he's confirmed it and it feels completely different and-"

"Hold on one second there," Ginny interjected, and Hermione paused to take a breath.

"Who is this guy?" she queried, and for a moment, she saw Hermione considering the pros and cons of telling her. Ginny was pretty confident at this point that it was her brother, but she didn't want to make the assumption until she had more concrete proof.

Hermione debated whether she should tell Ginny, thinking on one hand that it would be brilliant to have his sister on her side, and then on the other how weird that could be for Ginny to hear that her best friend had fallen for her brother, and decided against it, instead choosing her words carefully.

"It's this guy in my government class, we've known each other by extension for a few years, but we got a lot closer this year."

"I see. And you saw him today?" Ginny inquired with an air of suspicion. It _was_ Saturday after all, and while she knew Hermione had gone out for coffee with a friend, she doubted it was this 'mystery boy'.

"Yeah, I ran into him on my way back from coffee."

"I see. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Not after he just told me we were only friends! Plus, I would never, you know that."

"Yeah well, maybe he's confused."

"Or maybe he knows exactly what he wants and I'm not it."

Ginny groaned dramatically. "Don't make me take you out again for drinks to get over this."

Frantically shaking her head, Hermione responded quickly, "Absolutely not. I'm never letting you put me in that position ever again. Fred had to walk me home, and you had taken my keys so I ended up in his room on his bed, and I don't think I've ever been more humiliated in my life."

That solidified Ginny's suspicions. She had never heard Hermione say she was embarrassed in front of _anyone_ , let alone her brother, it _had_ to be him.

"I suppose I'll leave you alone then if you don't want to talk about it. I need to have a word with my brothers about what we're doing for the holidays." Ginny said as she rose from her desk and headed out the door, intent on fixing this mess.

* * *

"Fred, open up! We need to talk." Ginny angrily pounded on the door of her brothers' dorm twenty minutes later, after an enlightening discussion with George.

"Not now, Ginny, I've got work to do." She heard him comment.

"Yes, right now! This is important, whatever you're working on will just have to wait." She banged on his door again until he relented and opened up the door.

"Yes?" Fred poked his head out the door.

"You screwed up with Hermione," Ginny stated as she pushed past him into the room, and made her way over to the couch that rested in front of his bed.

"What are you talking about? What did I screw up?" Fred questioned curiously.

"Oh come off it, Fred. Everyone in this suite knows you like Hermione _except_ Hermione herself, who, by the way, is off crying in _our_ dorm because she thinks she doesn't have a ghost of a chance with you since you think of her as 'just another friend' or something ridiculous. She's fancied you for a few months now, and if her reaction to being 'friends' is any indication of how she feels, I'd say she's rather enamored," she explained as she flopped onto the couch dramatically.

Fred's already light complexion got decidedly paler at the revelation that he had made Hermione cry and he looked down at his feet for a moment before a blush erupted across his cheeks once he processed Ginny's last comment.

"D'you really think so?" he mumbled.

Ginny rolled her eyes before sitting up to scrutinize him carefully. "You really fancy her, right? This isn't just you messing around or making some sort of bet with George?"

A hurt expression crossed his face, and Ginny knew that he wasn't joking before he even said a word.

"I would _never_ do that to her. I may joke around with other people and flirt aimlessly sometimes, but not with her," he shook his head, " _never_ with her," he added vehemently.

Ginny smiled as he turned away for a moment and ran a hand over his face slowly. "I think," she started as he faced her with a confused look on his face, "it's about time for you to make a move."

"I couldn't!" He exclaimed as he ran his hand through his hair for what must've been the tenth time since she arrived, "She'd think it was a joke!"

Ginny shook her head wearily, "You're missing what I've been saying for months now: She. Fancies. You. She's not going to turn you down, if anything, she'll leap into your arms, ecstatic at the idea that you feel the same way about her. You'll need to make it up to her first, though. She's still terribly upset that you only think of her as a 'friend'. I'd suggest flowers and chocolates, but this is Hermione we're talking about. You might be better off giving her back her Government textbook and a carton of milk since those are both things you supposedly 'took' from her," Ginny said with a slight smirk as she stood up and began walking towards the door.

"Ginny, I can't-"

"I swear to God, Fred Weasley, if you tell me you _can't_ approach the girl you like, I'll smack you. You've done plenty more forward things to professors and TAs, I think you can manage to tell the one girl that you actually _do_ care about the truth. Perhaps start with an apology, and see where it goes from there."

With that Ginny departed the twins' room, leaving a rather conflicted Fred Weasley glancing between his journals and the door.

* * *

When Hermione emerged from her room the next morning, she immediately noticed the drawing on the whiteboard.

A large, happy cow sat in a field of grass and flowers, looking as if he was having the best time of his life. A note reading 'open the door' was at his feet.

She opened the refrigerator door to see a small bouquet of daisies tied together with a piece of blue twine. Next to the flowers was a new jug of milk and a handwritten note that said

"I'm _dairy_ sorry to have made you cry over _spilled_ _milk_. Will you ever forgive me? -FW"

Hermione smiled to herself before pulling out the milk jug, then grabbing a box of cereal and two bowls and setting them on the table. _Forgiveness_ , she thought, _she could manage_.

* * *

a/n: Here's 4/5, we're starting to wrap it up! Let me know what you think in the reviews!


	5. Parting is Such Suite Sorrow

a/n: BACK AGAIN FOR THE FINAL HURRAH. Here's the last part, I've had SO much fun writing these guys, and I hope you've enjoyed getting to read them! Let me know what you think in the comments (and feel free to check out my author profile for some more HP fics)! As per usual, I own absolutely nothing, J.K. Rowling is brilliant and fantastic.

* * *

Chapter 5: Parting is Such Suite Sorrow

 **Mid-Late December**

* * *

Hermione shivered as she walked briskly back to her dorm from her last exam of the term, her wool coat doing a barely adequate job of staying the cold. Her fingers felt frozen in their thin gloves as she turned the key in the lock, and as she breathed out a puff of air before entering the building, she found herself grateful to be home.

A tremor ran through her as she took off her winter coat and draped it gently over a chair in the living area. She ran her hands over her arms rapidly in a futile attempt to create some warmth before deciding that a blanket and some cozy clothes would be the best option.

She pushed her thick braid back over her shoulder as she gently unlocked and pushed open the door to her dorm room. Ginny was lying on her bed thumbing through a textbook and occasionally asking questions of Harry, who was sitting with his legs around the back of Ginny's desk chair looking more bored by the second. Harry's face brightened as soon as he saw Hermione enter the room.

"..which resulted in the establishment of- Hermione! Great to see you!" Harry grinned widely at the distraction, while Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's serious aversion to studying.

"How was your Economics exam, 'Mione?" Ginny asked cheerfully, deciding to turn her attention to someone who cared about their academics. Hermione made her way over to her dresser while answering.

"I suppose it wasn't awful. There were a few questions that they asked about nonprice determinants between supply and demand that nearly tripped me up, but it felt good," Hermione smiled as she opened a drawer to grab navy blue flannel pants and a light pink thermal henley before hastily moving to collect the thick blanket from off of her bed.

"That's great!" Ginny exclaimed, a bit too enthusiastically, before speaking again, this time with a bit more trepidation. "I meant to talk to you about something, 'Mione, and uh, since you're here, I figured I might as well…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"What is it Gin? Do you want Harry to step out for a moment?" Hermione asked, eager to get into some warmer clothes.

Ginny blushed furiously and nodded. Harry dutifully stood up and saluted as he made his way towards the door.

"Don't think this means I've forgotten about your studying Harry!" Ginny yelled after him. He turned around in the doorway to send his girlfriend a wink and a thumbs up from behind their friend's back. As Hermione turned around to see him off, Ginny sent a wink back and Harry smiled broadly before shutting the door quietly.

"Alright, what's going on?" Hermione inquired again as she placed the blanket and clothes in her hands on her bed.

Ginny's face became a rather endearing shade of pink as she picked at her blanket, unwilling to look her best friend in the eyes. "Well, Harry and I have been seeing each other for nearly two years now, and I thought it might be nice if we were to, you know, take things to the next level in our relationship…" she trailed off, raising her eyes to meet Hermione's gaze sheepishly.

"Ginny, did you get yourself engaged?" Hermione whispered fiercely, shocked that her friend would do such a thing- well, now that she thought about it, Ginny _was_ a fairly rash decision-maker… Her thoughts were cut off by Ginny shaking her head frantically.

"No, of course not, absolutely not! If the question were to come up, I certainly wouldn't be opposed, but no, that's not exactly what I meant…" she blushed again, and Hermione suddenly realized the connotation behind her previous words.

"Oh. Well, I was going to be in the common area this evening anyhow, I've got nothing left to study for, so I figured I would curl up on the sofa with a good book or something. I can certainly stay out of here if your intent is to consummate your relationship," Hermione paused and blushed nearly as deeply as Ginny had a few minutes earlier. "I'll just grab a few things and head out there then, yeah?" She got up rather distractedly and grabbed the items off of her bed, as well as two large novels and a pillow, before hastily making her way to the door frame and pausing to face her friend.

"Just… uh, be safe, right?" Hermione squeaked out, and Ginny turned a shade even darker than before, as her friend quickly opened the door and walked out, only to run into Harry. Ginny watched as a flustered Hermione attempted to collect herself, before mumbling, "She's all yours," to Harry and disappearing behind the wall, presumably to set up camp on the sofa.

"I take it that went well then?" Harry smirked as he re-entered the bedroom and shut the door with a quiet 'click'.

Ginny's face, still tinged with pink, schooled itself into a threatening expression as she pointed at the textbook in front of her.

"For Hermione and Fred, certainly. _You,_ on the other hand, have some work to do, my dear, before we can head out for our date this evening."

Harry groaned and settled back into Ginny's desk chair to finish their review session.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the neighboring suite, Fred and George were having a similar conversation while George's girlfriend, Angelina, was using the bathroom.

"C'mon George, you couldn't have chosen a warmer day for this frolick in the fields?" Fred protested and smirked as his brother adopted a rather telltale blush across his cheeks.

Ignoring his brother's question, George replied, "Fred, you know I wouldn't normally ask this of you, but Ang is leaving to go home tomorrow, and then next term she'll be in the states, you heard her! That'll be a full six months of me not seeing her! I just wanted to be able to savor the moments I have left with her before she leaves."

"I expect that's not all you'll be savoring, brother dearest," Fred chuckled before ducking to avoid being hit by the magazine his brother threw at him.

"Fred," George said menacingly, "Don't make me make you leave this room."

Fred sighed dramatically while grabbing an old sweater and a pair of pajama pants and changing into them before heading out towards the common area. He stopped at the doorway before turning around to face his brother with a more hesitant expression on his face.

"Don't forget to uh… I mean it's in the drawer, so just…" He trailed off weakly, "Have fun, I 'spose." With that he rushed out of the room and sat down on the sofa, opposite a blanket and a pile of books.

* * *

On her way to the bathroom, Hermione bumped into Angelina and exchanged polite pleasantries with the girl, who had grinned at Hermione and whispered "Have yourself some fun tonight," before heading back toward Fred and George's dorm. Hermione stood at the entrance to the bathroom for a moment, then shook her head and stepped inside to change.

When she had finished, she made her way back to the sofa only to find a redhead occupying a large majority of its space. She cleared her throat to alert him of her arrival, all the while feverishly hoping that by some miracle of God, this was George sitting here on the sofa. Surprised brown eyes turned to meet hers, and she internally groaned as she noticed the scar near the right eyebrow that identified the man before her as Fred.

"Fancy seeing you out here," he smirked, "reading a book. The workload must be light today!"

"If you must know, I completed my last exam today," she said rather icily before grabbing her blanket and wrapping it around her and sitting daintily at the other end of the sofa.

"How was it?" Fred asked, a genuine curiosity present on his face that made Hermione pause for a moment.

"It went well enough, I suppose," she said quietly, before opening up her book to the current chapter she was in and getting comfortable in her blanket.

A few chapters later, she thought she heard a loud thump come from outside, and stood up to investigate. Fred stirred on the sofa and wiped at his eyes before asking her what the matter was.

"I heard a noise out there, a loud thumping sound," she murmured before facing the windows of their suite.

"My guess is that it was just some snow," Fred said before yawning and sitting up fully on the sofa. "Nothing to worry about, really."

Hermione turned back toward him and nodded absentmindedly, suddenly very aware of how attractive she found the redhead sitting a few meters from her. She sat back down and was about to reopen her book when she noticed Fred shivering next to her.

"Fred, you're shaking! Why didn't you grab a blanket before you came out? You ought to go get one from your room."

Fred shook his head curtly, and his expression darkened slightly before he muttered, "Can't, George's in there with Angelina."

A puzzled expression crossed Hermione's face before she spoke again. "Angelina being here has never stopped you from going in your room before, why would now be any diff- oh. When you said he was in there with Angelina, you meant he was _in there_ with _Angelina_."

Fred smiled slightly at Hermione's innocent blush and nodded. "You too, I presume? Ginny rarely kicks people out of her room for much else."

Hermione blushed further before a thought crossed her mind. "If you move over a bit, we can share this one," she paused, looking flustered for a moment before continuing hesitantly, "If you want it, that is. If not, I can just give it to you, I mean, I've got warm enough clothes on to be fine…" She trailed off and looked up at Fred endearingly, which only brightened his gentle smile.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, 'Mione. I'm freezing," He said as he scooted across the sofa to sit next to her. She lifted the blanket up for him to slide under, the exchange forcing one of her hands to linger on one of his for a moment. For a moment, she allowed her mind to wander and imagined what it would be like to properly hold his hand but quickly dismissed that thought as Fred's voice disrupted her reverie.

"Blimey, you're cold!"

"Yes, well, I've got poor circulation," Hermione explained as she reached for her novel again. Before her hands could brush the smooth leather of her book, however, they were captured by a warm entity. Looking up, she saw Fred's hands on her own and raised an eyebrow at him before he winked and pulled her hands closer to him.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, but as she looked on, Fred had already begun rubbing his hands on hers and blowing warm air over them.

 _Oh,_ she thought, _he's trying to warm me up, that's…. kind of him._

"Is that any better?" Fred inquired, still trapping her hands between his. She nodded and he beamed before reluctantly letting go of her hands. "So what do you have there? Anything juicy?

Beginning to worry that her blush was permanent, Hermione shook her head and picked up the book. "It's a young adult novel that I never got around to reading, about a boy who falls head over heels for this girl who has no idea that he fancies her. They've been acquaintances for a while, but she apparently thought that no one could ever fall for her, and then they get stuck in an awkward but adorable sort of relationship….It's a bit sappy, to be honest, but I'm a sucker for a good romance," she giggled as she ducked her head ashamedly.

Fred couldn't help but see the similarities between this story and the last few months he had spent slowly falling for the girl in front of him, and in a moment of sheer determination, he jumped up off of the sofa.

"You know what would warm you up, 'Mione?" He grinned, albeit a little uncertainly, not that Hermione could tell. She tilted her head in surprise and let a small smile grace her features before shaking her head 'no'. "Dancing!" He said as he looked down at her with such a gentle gaze that Hermione felt a shiver run down her spine.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. She liked to think that she was adept at many things, but by no means was she a good dancer. She had just bitten her lip and looked down when a lightly freckled hand appeared in front of her.

"May I have this dance, m'lady?" Fred offered with a charming smile, as the opening notes of a gentle Ingrid Michaelson song began to play off of his phone. She blushed and took his hand, standing hesitantly before him, a bewildered expression on her face. He pulled her hand towards him and placed a chaste kiss on the top, making Hermione's hand tingle and her stomach flip. He sent a sweet smile her way as he whispered: "Miss Granger, always a pleasure."

And then they were dancing, slowly, delicately, around the small living room. Hermione's brain stopped whirring as hesitant steps in the direction of her partner became gentle sways, while her head rested against his chest, a contented sigh escaping from between her lips every so often. As time went on, even the swaying abated, and all that remained was a man and a woman, very much looking as if they were in love as they held each other close and nestled into the other's very presence.

All too soon, Hermione's brain turned back on, and she turned her head to gaze up at Fred. "What is this? What are we doing?"

Fred leaned closer to her, and whispered quietly, "We're dancing, love," before lightly brushing his lips against hers.

The tingling that had lingered in her hand were long forgotten in the explosions that went off in Hermione's mind. _Fred kissed me!_ _ **Fred**_ _kissed_ _ **me**_ _! What do I do now?_ She looked up to see an unusual expression on Fred's face, one that neared uncertainty, and realized her lack of a response must have given him the wrong impression. Before she could persuade herself otherwise, she moved a hand to the back of Fred's neck and pulled him down to capture his mouth in a sweet kiss, pulling away reluctantly with a bashful glint in her eyes.

Fred, on the other hand, had looked equal parts shocked and enamored when Hermione had pulled him towards her, and now was eyeing her with a particularly tender expression that made her want to draw him close in an embrace and never release him. She yawned lightly as she approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You look drowsy, what do you say we take a little nap?" Fred offered gently as he looked down at the quickly tiring woman currently trapping him in a hug. He chuckled as she nodded and began moving over to the sofa with him in tow, refusing to relinquish her hold on him.

Hermione sat down in the corner, as she usually did, and Fred laid down as he had before, but this time, he pulled Hermione towards him so that she would be comfortably reclined with her back facing away from him, and her head rested against his chest. He lifted the blanket and situated it comfortably over the both of them before draping an arm over Hermione's waist and leaning back onto his pillow.

"Hey 'Mione?"

"Mmwhat Fred?"

"I've been waiting three years to do that."

Hermione let out a happy sigh with a slight smile before drifting off to sleep, with Fred following close behind.

* * *

An hour later, Ginny and George gingerly opened the door to their flat with Harry in tow, the latter offering Ginny support as she limped slightly into the room, while George silently closed the door.

"I told you climbing out the window would be a bad idea, Gin. Why couldn't we have just stayed in your dorm and watched a movie?" Harry offered quietly as he helped Ginny to a chair.

"They would've known something was up, you know you would've chosen a comedy and then they'd have heard us laughing to ourselves. Besides, George and Angelina were fine, it's not my fault that branch wasn't as stable after holding three other people's weight." Ginny griped. "Where are the two lovebirds anyway?" She questioned George, who had moved in front of the sofa and frozen. Saying nothing, he nodded his head at the sight before him, which was blocked by the back of the sofa. Not wanting to aggravate her sore ankle any more than she already had, Ginny motioned to Harry to go observe and report back.

Harry crept around the edge of the sofa quietly, heeding George's hushed warning of a finger across his lips, and smiled at the sight he saw. Hermione was nestled into Fred, and sleeping soundly, while Fred had draped an arm protectively around her before apparently also drifting off, his head tilted and rested on top of hers.

"What is it?" Ginny whispered, "I want to see!"

"Hold on, I'll take a picture for you," Harry said as he pulled out his phone to document the scene before him. Ginny was surely going to use this as blackmail later on, well, either as blackmail or as a photo in their wedding. Edging around the sofa, he placed his phone on Ginny's lap, the digital evidence fully displayed before her.

Her eyes went wide and she grinned enthusiastically. _I'm glad they finally gave in,_ she thought, _I was running out of plots to throw them together._

* * *

a/n: And so we've reached the end. I'm sad to see it go, I rather liked these cute little chapters. I'm quite pleased with how the plot ended up working out through all of this, and I hope you are too! Let me know what you think in the reviews, and feel free to check out my other works on my author page if you're interested!

Much Love,

femmedefoi


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